No fireworks on July 4th, because I always love the fireworks at Oswego’s Harborfest. But we did go to Oswego yesterday with the hope that it would clear, and it did, but it was windy all day, which made it nice and cool. They are dredging at the Port of Oswego:

Here’s a tugboat taking a barge of dredge out to dump in Lake Ontario: You can hear how windy it is in this video.

I didn’t go swimming because I didn’t feel like dealing with the rough water yesterday, even though the water was warm:

I’ve been to Oswego Harborfest for four years now, and it *always* rains on this weekend! I drove through some wicked rain just to get to Oswego. No beautiful sunset tonight, and it rained the whole time, but I kept covered with a tarp.

Here’s what the storm looked like just west of the harbor at Rudy’s:

Foreboding rain clouds coming:

And later some light:

The weather wasn’t looking much better from my perch to watch the fireworks.

I did film it with the camera under the tarp, so it’s a bit shaky. The fireworks were fantastic, as always!

Finally! We got some swimming in on July 3rd at Jamesville, and on July 4th at Lake Ontario. It rained, then the lake was foggy, then it cleared and became hot and humid. In between the fog and humid part, there was a sailboat race:

I went to Oswego to go swimming one last time, and just happened upon a tugboat getting ready to pull a Great Lakes barge out of the harbor, and then push it to Rochester, NY. It was partly full of powdered cement after having emptied some at Oswego, and was from Canada. Here’s the tugboat, Evans McNeil, blowing its horn:

And here it is starting to pull the barge. That tugboat has a diesel engine the size of a train engine!

It continues to pull it, getting it turned into a position so it can start pushing it:

And now it’s pushing it out from the harbor into Lake Ontario:

And about to enter the lake:

On its way to Rochester:

This reminds me of the book “The Little Engine That Could.” This is the little tug that could.

I love one of the Great Lakes that we have here in NY State. When I get to missing it, I drive to it, no matter where I am. The other nite I had the chance to drive to Oswego for dinner at Rudy’s (yummy fish); then visit a great book store called The River’s End bookstore, and then up to Fort Ontario to view the lake.

View from Rudy’s looking towards the nuclear power plant at The Port of Oswego.

It was a beautiful evening, not humid, just right.

Soon I won’t be able to watch the sunset over the lake, but for now, I’ll take it.

Once at Fort Ontario, we had to walk down a set of old, unused railroad tracks to get to our final destination to watch the sun set.

The water was beautiful.

The sun on the rock and the water splashing on the rock was pleasant.

Wave action from a boat passing by. I took video of this so I can listen to it in the middle of winter.

The sun shining on the shore is beautiful.

People were out enjoying the evening.

Even though I don’t like the sun to go down, I love watching it, especially when it hits the horizon, then you really can tell how fast it is moving.

The dude sets real fast.

The last little bit of it.

The boats start heading in.

The lighthouse starts flashing, even though I didn’t capture it flashing here.

When I first saw this bathhouse on a postcard, I thought how really interesting it is.
People used to be able to swim in this lake – called Hiawatha Lake.
In fact, they used to dive off the upper part of the bath house. I have the post cards showing people diving and swimming.
There is a pool on the other side of this bath house, which used to be part of the lake.
But not anymore. Now it’s just the pool on the other side that people are allowed to swim in. But that’s okay, because this is still a very cool park. Another structure I love is the band stand.
I have an old picture where, instead of this walkway, they had a structure on a rail that would take the band members back and forth to the island.
Why is this photo crooked? I was sitting on the grass waiting for the Stan Colella Orchestra to start. And then came along some talkers, who talked throughout the entire concert. I don’t know why people who want to talk just don’t stay home.
Ah yes, what I could hear of it, the orchestra was excellent!
Oh, I love the sax!
And the trombone! What is with the pictures? I need to work on this crooked thing!
The evening was wearing on, and the lights came on.
A storm was brewing.
The concert was over with, and the sun was setting, and I was just enjoying the peace and quiet and coolness of the evening.
Another feature I love about Onondaga Park is this stone bridge.
Here it is with the flash turned on.
I found a better photo of it.
I have photos showing a small lake on this side of the bridge, too. Now it’s just a grassy area.
There was a fountain and Japanese pergola here, too, and a waterfall.
There still is a nice picnic grove.

Here’s a bit of history:
When the Woodland Reservoir opened on South Geddes Street in 1894, the old Wilkinson Reservoir was no longer needed to supply Syracuse’s drinking needs. In 1898 the 71 acres around the Wilkinson Reservoir was bought by the city to form Onondaga Park. In 1903 more wooded land (the Olmstead Grove) was acquired and became a popular picnic area near the old reservoir that is still in use today. In 1911 Wilkinson Reservoir was renovated and renamed Hiawatha Lake. Today it is the central focus of Onondaga Park on the southwest side of Syracuse.